The former city councillor has high hopes for the students at his namesake school. He wants it to be a place where the next generation will learn the merits of public life.

“I hope that it supports a path of them becoming productive citizens and a credit to the city that we live in and the province and the country, that they’re contributing members of society,” he said.

The school was open in time for the beginning of the 2017-18 school year but the grand opening was delayed to Monday night while the school was accommodating extra students from a nearby school, said a spokesperson for Edmonton Public School Board.